Bike for half drive half cycle journey

C.O.Y.B.I.B

Hi , looking for some advice from others who do similar. Currently I drive halfway to city and cycle rest of the way . (16k total each way)
I currently have a Dahon full size foldable which fits nicely into the boot and works well . I drive , park up pop car out of the boot , unfold and off I go . Unfolding takes less than a minute and I leave the bike in the car overnight ready for the next day.
Dahon is on its last legs and I'm due BTW scheme . I indentified a replacement in Tern Joe C21 which I can't get anywhere except on Amazon ( don't think bike to work an option). Couple of shops have said they might get it by Feb bit starting to look doubtful .
Questions are these :
1. Any better way to do what I'm doing ? Electric might be a runner , but often have errands on way home, like collecting kids , going shopping .
2. Can I claim BTW on an Amazon purchase ?
3. Any other ideas ?

Thanks

magicbastarder

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

2. Can I claim BTW on an Amazon purchase ?

this depends entirely on your employer. some employers are very lax about where you source the bike, some limit you to a certain shop, and some don't even offer it AFAIK.
you need to ask in work, main thing is that they need to be able to buy the bike on your behalf in a way that they will agree to.

flatface

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

Hi , looking for some advice from others who do similar. Currently I drive halfway to city and cycle rest of the way . (16k total each way)
I currently have a Dahon full size foldable which fits nicely into the boot and works well . I drive , park up pop car out of the boot , unfold and off I go . Unfolding takes less than a minute and I leave the bike in the car overnight ready for the next day.
Dahon is on its last legs and I'm due BTW scheme . I indentified a replacement in Tern Joe C21 which I can't get anywhere except on Amazon ( don't think bike to work an option). Couple of shops have said they might get it by Feb bit starting to look doubtful .
Questions are these :
1. Any better way to do what I'm doing ? Electric might be a runner , but often have errands on way home, like collecting kids , going shopping .
2. Can I claim BTW on an Amazon purchase ?
3. Any other ideas ?

Thanks

Would you consider a road bike and bike carrier for the car? I used to do this when I drove one of the kids to crèche then grabbed the bike off the back, put the carrier in the boot and off I would go.

C.O.Y.B.I.B

flatface wrote: »

Would you consider a road bike and bike carrier for the car? I used to do this when I drove one of the kids to crèche then grabbed the bike off the back, put the carrier in the boot and off I would go.

Yeah , this might work alright . Did you have a carrier that was quick and easy to stowaway , any recommendations ? Have a cheap carrier , but takes 10 mins to put on/take off. Wouldn't mind spending a few quid on a decent carrier if that option worked .

07Lapierre

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

Yeah , this might work alright . Did you have a carrier that was quick and easy to stowaway , any recommendations ? Have a cheap carrier , but takes 10 mins to put on/take off. Wouldn't mind spending a few quid on a decent carrier if that option worked .

Www.seasucker.com. I have the Talon single bike carrier. Put it on and remove it in seconds. Highly recommend it.

cdaly_

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

Yeah , this might work alright . Did you have a carrier that was quick and easy to stowaway , any recommendations ? Have a cheap carrier , but takes 10 mins to put on/take off. Wouldn't mind spending a few quid on a decent carrier if that option worked .

If you have a tow hitch on the car, a scissors type rack is really fast to deploy and takes up not much boot space. Dunno would you consider it worth fitting a tow hitch for this purpose though.

flatface

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

Yeah , this might work alright . Did you have a carrier that was quick and easy to stowaway , any recommendations ? Have a cheap carrier , but takes 10 mins to put on/take off. Wouldn't mind spending a few quid on a decent carrier if that option worked .

I had a cheap one too, so I often just left it on and risked it. I’ve seen the sirus bones recommended but not sure how long it takes to put away.

Cee-Jay-Cee

flatface wrote: »

I had a cheap one too, so I often just left it on and risked it. I’ve seen the sirus bones recommended but not sure how long it takes to put away.

Its a bit fiddly having to attach the straps to the upper and lower boot lid area but is quite doable within 3 or 4 minutes (once you figure it out initially and cut the straps to suit your car) however its not a simple hook on/hook off carrier.

triggermortis

I have a Saris Bones and it can be fitted in a couple of minutes and removed in less. It would be cheaper than the seasucker one if that's your priority

C.O.Y.B.I.B

cdaly_ wrote: »

If you have a tow hitch on the car, a scissors type rack is really fast to deploy and takes up not much boot space. Dunno would you consider it worth fitting a tow hitch for this purpose though.

Did see those alright , but don't have a tow bar and probably not worth it .

C.O.Y.B.I.B

triggermortis wrote: »

I have a Saris Bones and it can be fitted in a couple of minutes and removed in less. It would be cheaper than the seasucker one if that's your priority

Yeah Sirus have a few which are recommended and also have seen a Thule one advertised as "Clip on/off" .

Will do a little more investigation. Thanks for all help

Mickiemcfist

Are the roof rack ones not an option here? A lot of people I've seen leave them on year round.

ratracer

Mickiemcfist wrote: »

Are the roof rack ones not an option here? A lot of people I've seen leave them on year round.

Yep, I’ve a Thule carrier on my roof rack, leave it on all the time. Takes seconds to put the bike on/off it. Just don’t drive into an underground car park :0

I bought the rack in the Cycling Adverts section here.

LLewellen Farquarson

ratracer wrote: »

Yep, I’ve a Thule carrier on my roof rack, leave it on all the time. Takes seconds to put the bike on/off it. Just don’t drive into an underground car park :0

I bought the rack in the Cycling Adverts section here.

Same here,
put the bike on the roof rack, drive 10kms to a carpark, cycle 10km to work.

The advantage is the roofrack (thule), and cycle attachment are on all year round, and it takes seconds to put the bike on and off. The roof rack and cycle attachment are secure (the cycle attachment is locked on by design).

I can take the roof rack off as a unit in 2 minutes if I am doing a long drive, for noise and aerodynamics.

As the car has a high roof, I use a foldable step to put the bicycle on, otherwise my shoulder is extended too much and starts to hurt.

But I've been using the is method for the past 10 years with no problems.

And I initially bought a Halfords cycle carrier which was OK for occasional use, but didn't stand up to daily use, so replaced it with the thule one.

DavyD_83

The saris bones looks like a handy and cost-effective option.

Might pick up the 1or 3 bike model for the family holiday and for the odd time I need to transport my bike around. Putting bike on boot isn't v practical with 2 kids car seats these days

tomasrojo

Bromptons have a great fold and there's not foostering around with carriers. They'd be grand for cycling 16km, only slightly harder than a standard bike. If you're used to doing it with a folding bike already, a Brompton wouldn't be any disimprovement on the cycling part, and probably better for the fold and unfold.

Depending on your budget and parking situation at work, you could get a pedelec cargo bike and then you can do all the stuff with the shopping and kids with that bike, and skip the driving part. This is what I do, minus the pedelec part, as I couldn't afford the motor and thought it would be more complicated to maintain anyway.

eeeee

Another suggestion, get yourself the road/ cross/ gravel bike of your dreams and cycle thre whole way.
My commute is 20k each way and I do it on a fixie.
You'll get fitter and be calmer / get headspace (maybe!) Getting into work?

smacl

If you're looking for a full size folder options are limited. I like the look of the Montague range with 700c wheels and was tempted to build one up from the frame, but had difficulty sourcing one.

Macy0161

C.O.Y.B.I.B wrote: »

Hi , looking for some advice from others who do similar. Currently I drive halfway to city and cycle rest of the way . (16k total each way)

When I cycle commute, I drive so far and then cycle the rest. Currently drive a combi van, which the bike just goes into, but over the years I've done a variety of the following...

1) Cheap bike rack I just left on. In the evening, I just left the commuter bike on it.
2) Upgraded to a roof rack - justified on the basis of racing, worries of carbon frames on the crap rear mounted rack. Much better to be honest, as full access to the boot, but added up cost wise.
3) Rear seats down, front wheel off.

I wouldn't rule out 3 tbh. It was as quick and easy as 1 or 2, but most days I needed to do childcare collection, so needed the rear seats. Old sheet to protect from wet and oil...

Fann Linn

eeeee wrote: »

Another suggestion, get yourself the road/ cross/ gravel bike of your dreams and cycle thre whole way.
My commute is 20k each way and I do it on a fixie.
You'll get fitter and be calmer / get headspace (maybe!) Getting into work?

Genesis Croix de fer or Cube nubike pro fe are worth a look.

CantGetNoSleep

Macy0161 wrote: »

When I cycle commute, I drive so far and then cycle the rest. Currently drive a combi van, which the bike just goes into, but over the years I've done a variety of the following...

1) Cheap bike rack I just left on. In the evening, I just left the commuter bike on it.
2) Upgraded to a roof rack - justified on the basis of racing, worries of carbon frames on the crap rear mounted rack. Much better to be honest, as full access to the boot, but added up cost wise.
3) Rear seats down, front wheel off.

I wouldn't rule out 3 tbh. It was as quick and easy as 1 or 2, but most days I needed to do childcare collection, so needed the rear seats. Old sheet to protect from wet and oil...

I also wouldn't rule out the third option of quick release road bike with front wheel off. I used to have a Toyota Yaris and could get a bike in and still have two of the back seats free.

If you want to go for folding, suggest test riding a Brompton

eeeee

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

I also wouldn't rule out the third option of quick release road bike with front wheel off. I used to have a Toyota Yaris and could get a bike in and still have two of the back seats free.

If you want to go for folding, suggest test riding a Brompton

OT but my friend got 4 big bikes in the back of a yaris.
I once got a whole kitchen in one.
When the seats are down in the old model ones you'd almost get a pallet in them :pac:

I love a yaris. They're like tardis's. If insurance wasn't so prohibitive on older cars, I'd love a pre 05 one. They're class!

mcgragger

I've a Boardman road bike.
2 quick release wheels off into the boot.
Grab bag and helmet etc from boot.
Frame into back of car.
Literally 90 seconds.

Park in Phoenix Park. Work in town.
Gift.

CantGetNoSleep

eeeee wrote: »

OT but my friend got 4 big bikes in the back of a yaris.
I once got a whole kitchen in one.
When the seats are down in the old model ones you'd almost get a pallet in them :pac:

I love a yaris. They're like tardis's. If insurance wasn't so prohibitive on older cars, I'd love a pre 05 one. They're class!

My worst ever car related decision was selling a 10 year old Yaris in 2016 for only 2000€ (granted it had a few scratches). Only 66000km on the clock too and a 1.3 petrol so a flier

AmberGold

Cheapest crappiest boot bike rack you can find and leave it on. One of the neighbours has been doing this for years and it hasn’t been taken.

eeeee

CantGetNoSleep wrote: »

My worst ever car related decision was selling a 10 year old Yaris in 2016 for only 2000€ (granted it had a few scratches). Only 66000km on the clock too and a 1.3 petrol so a flier

You have my deepest sympathies